


Ghosting Dragon

by Maliciouspixie5



Category: Big Bang (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama & Romance, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, Romance, Running Away, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-10 04:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18931171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maliciouspixie5/pseuds/Maliciouspixie5
Summary: Two years ago two guys set their sights on a foreigner in a museum.  One of them got the girl and so much more.  A short tale of running from problems and finding hope.





	Ghosting Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> LOL, I will ask for forgiveness first thing. I know nothing of Korean culture other than what I read or watched on YouTube. I winged it all! I’m not going to attempt all the honorifics, don’t understand them so rather than making a lot of folks mad I won’t even attempt it. I owe this fic to a wonderful story on K-POP FANFICTION web site. “If You” by keepcalmandyehet. I love, love, love it. If you get a chance read it. I wrote this while listening to the soundtrack to A Korean Odyssey and lots of BigBang. 
> 
> Please read AN below. Seriously please. Read it. NOT BETA'D SORRY

Fairhope, Alabama, USA March 1, 2020   
Kwon Jiyong approached the door and rang the bell once then stepped back respectively. Looking around he observed his surroundings with an awe that he had remembered on another face two years ago. The area he was in was the lush and green deep coastal south of the United States. Jiyong had landed in a small airport in the state of Alabama and had met with his hired driver. They had then driven for an hour through the city and across Mobile Bay to find the home of a girl he had only know for a month two years ago. He knew it was crazy to want to see her again after more than two years had passed but her memory had helped sustained him during his time in service. He had promised Ridley that he would find her again one day. They had joked that it would be when they ‘were old and gray and widowed’ but he didn’t want to wait. He had to see her just to find if she was okay and had buried the demons that had made her run from home so long ago.

Ridley Lane’s family home was a sprawling southern plantation style home located on Mobile bay. As he drove up the long winding drive he could see glimpses of a long pier behind the house with a large sail boat docked alongside a boat house. He spied a man there in the distance with a small child but he was so far away he doubted that they could have heard him drive up. Glancing around as he waited he looked at the deep porch with wide wooden floors and the ceiling painted blue. The color Ridley had told him was to ward off evil spirits. Wicker chairs and a hanging swing welcomed visitors off to the side and various pots contained a wide assortment of blooming flowers. The door was soon answered by an elderly woman in a black work dress. She looked at him eyes widening in surprise at his features. He thought to himself that they must not get many foreigners around this area. 

“Good afternoon. I am looking for Ridley Lane. Can you tell her I am here?” He asked in slow and careful English and became instantly concerned at the sad look that crossed her face. 

“May I ask your name sir?” she asked in a quiet southern drawl. “Kwon Jiyong” he replied. He did his best not to seem impatient and rude but he had journeyed far and just wanted to see the girl who had left him so abruptly two years ago with a letter and a trace of perfume on his sheets.

“Come in, come in.” she motioned him forward and led him toward a room off to the left of the entrance. “Let me sit you in Miss Ridley’s study while I go get Miss Sandra for you.” She led him toward the room and motioned for him to have a seat and disappeared. 

The room was a mix mash of Asian antiques mixed with southern style. He sat in an overstuffed loveseat printed with fat cream cabbage roses on a rusty red background and looked around room. An antique camphor wood chest sat as a coffee table. It held coffee table books of different Asian countries. Over a mantle there was a large picture of magnolias painted on cloth in the Asian style. A small red urn with a dragon etched in black was set to the left and opposite it on the other side were two porcelain dolls dressed in Korean dress. He smiled at a memory and gave a quiet chuckle. She must still remember our day touring the palace fondly to have dolls recreated with the costumes that they had worn that day.

Just then a woman cleared her throat. He looked away from the mantle and toward the entrance. A woman stood there in a pale blue shift dress and matching heels. Pearls graced her long neck and ears. Her hair was a dark shoulder length blond and she looked similar Ridley with the same heart shaped face and small bone structure. He assumed she could be in her late fifty’s. She studied him with green eyes and a small wistful smile quirked the corner of her mouth. He stood and bowed to her in respect. 

“You have to be her dragon,” Were her first words to him. His eyes widened for a moment with the strange greeting from the woman. But he had come to the conclusion long ago that Americans didn’t hold their thoughts well, Ridley had taught him that. The instant she thought it she said it. He remembered with amusement the look of his blue haired bandmate Seunghyun when instead of a polite greeting she had blurted out that she thought she was meeting a Korean cookie monster. Hyun’s distressed look and angry eyebrows had Ridley giving them a giggling explanation of a children’s television show called Sesame Street and a blue monster that consumed great quantities of cookies. To this day to get a playful dig at Seung-hyun he would lean in and call him Cookie. 

“Her dragon?” he raised an eyebrow at that. She had never known who he was; he had kept his public life from her, selfishly wanting her to know him for him and not the stage persona. She never asked why he kept her secluded from his other life; she had been so innocent and naïve and respected his privacy. If something awkward came up they had both ignored it. She was so easy to play if that had been his intention, which at the start was just his intention. But so much had changed in such a short time.

The woman walked to the couch and sat smoothing down her skirt as she did. He sat down himself and waited for her to speak. She looked toward the hovering maid and nodded to her. Looking back toward Ji-yong she said, “Paula will bring us some sweet tea in a moment if that is fine with you?” He nodded his agreement. “My name is Sandra, I’m Ridley’s mother. It’s so nice to meet the young man my daughter regarded so fondly” 

“Mam, I was hoping to see Ridley, is she here?” he asked talking carefully; he wanted to impress this woman. 

“No, I’m sorry Mr. Kwon; Ridley is no longer with us.” Her voice was sad and he hoped that Ridley had not run away again. She said in her last note that she was tired of running and thanked him for giving her the strength to face her crisis and go home.

“I’m sorry, do you have any idea where she is now. I’d very much like to see her again.” Jiyong asked in quiet earnestness. Sandra looked down at her hands and then up at the mantle taking a deep breath. She stood and walked toward it when she got to there she stood before the red dragon urn and her small hand caressed its slick porcelain tenderly. “Ridley is here Mr. Kwon; she passed away July 2018,” it was said so softly he almost didn’t hear her but he did. She picked up a small envelope that had been on the mantle unseen and crossed the room back to him and offered it to him with two hands and a wistful smile. 

He took it with a nod and looked down to see his name written in her handwriting on the envelope. Jiyong took a deep breath but it seemed to fill nothing. His heart pounded running away in his chest and his vision swam as he was catapulted to a memory of a meeting two years ago in a museum in South Korea. 

 

August 2017 Seoul, South Korea the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art  
Seunghyun is obsessed with art and spends a fortune on it. Whatever city they are in on tour he will sneak off and tour museums and galleries if he gets the chance. Today he has them dressed ‘street casual’ attempting to blend in with the crowd so he can see the latest exhibit. The disguises would work better if it weren’t for the blue and red orange hair their stylist had given them. They covered the wild colors up with baseball caps, scarves, and added plain white face masks to add another layer to their disguise. For the moment it is perfect for them. They are rich, young, wild, and free. Sewing their oats before their mandatory army service begins. They live large and burn hot, hot, hot.

They spot her walking through the museum headed for the “Love at First Sight” International Residency Exchange Artist Exhibition. TOP nudges him with an elbow and nods toward the waif like blond foreigner. He has a wicked grin on his face. Jiyong snorts and the seeds of competition are planted. All the Americans he has met in his career have been fun to hang with. And if Senguri is correct, the ones that move here are lonely and easy. Easy sounds fun at the moment. He can always ghost her if she gets clingy. 

She has honey blonde hair, cut short in a wavy loose bob that almost reaches to her shoulders. He can only see her profile. He aims to get closer. The pale pink sundress she wears is youthful but demure. The hem hits an inch or so above her knee. Her feet are clad in ballerina flats in a matching pink. On her wrist is a bracelet; links of starfish, sand dollars, and seashells in rose gold. It looks custom made, heavy. The watch she wears he recognizes, expensive, black band with rose gold metal. Tag Heur, it probably ran her dad around thousand or more American dollars. This isn’t some college kid touring Asia on a shoestring budget and a ratty backpack. She radiates class and a certain amount of innocence. He would bet that momma or papa isn’t far away from this room guarding their little flower. 

She is gazing at an art piece on the wall; honestly it looks like something a kid would paint in art class. It’s a large canvas covered in blue boxes in the shape of houses. It’s all cover the dark canvas with added random pops of color thrown in. An interpretation of what seems to be a brown dog is dead center on the piece. He doesn’t know what to think of this sort of art, it’s too hectic for his taste, Seunghyun loves it.

He assumes Hyun is beside him as he approaches the girl. They like to hunt in a pack. But once he is beside her he realizes the sneaky fucker has stepped back and let him go on alone. He read the look of the girl too and assumes Jiyong is about to crash and burn. He will then repeat every embarrassing moment to their group of friends while they laugh over drinks. Nope, not this time, Jiyong takes a breath and steps in for the kill. 

“Blue boxes?” Jiyong questions the quiet girl beside him looking up at the canvas. He smells a faint hint of some floral perfume. It’s not loud but haunting, making him want to step closer into her personal space to take a deeper hit off the scent. Her lips curve into a slight smile at the sound of his voice. She turns to him and whispers, “You speak English? Oh thank God!” She is like the other Americans he has met, easy with a smile, so open with their opinions and words. Willing to talk to complete strangers, it’s strange. They are all alike, jovial and friendly. 

“Can you help me?” She looks up into his eyes earnestly. She is very pretty with a heart shaped face and big green eyes. Faint freckles dot her pail face and her lips sans lipstick are a natural pink, she is amazingly beautiful with her foreign looks, exotic to him. She asks him again, could he help and it startles him from the study of her face. This one is making it so easy. This keeps up and he might be getting congratulatory toasts over drinks tonight. He nods and smiles, “What can I help you with pretty girl.” She blushes. 

“My interpreter had an emergency so she left me here. I have no idea how to get back to my Air B&B.” At his questioning look she continued, “Oh I know the location, but the last time I took a taxi the driver didn’t speak a word of English.” Hmm maybe no momma and papa, things are looking up. “Could you write my address in Hangul so I could give it to a taxi driver?” Oh the innocence of this flower. Jiyong gives her a playful smile. His smiles have girls the world over begging for any scrap of attention he would give them. He watches her eyes widen. “For a cup of coffee, sure.” This has to be the corniest pickup line he has ever made but she goes with it. With a bounce she whispers and energetic, “Yes!’ 

They leave the museum side by side and they make their introductions to each other as they walk. Her name is Ridley Lane she is from Fairhope a small town in Alabama on the southern coast of the United States. She calls it an art colony, which kind of baffles him. He introduces himself as Kwon Jiyong and tells her he is in management with a local company. He isn’t lying; he is the leader of his group. It’s a half truth, so he feels no guilt.

He feels Seunghyun eyes somewhere watching and smirks. He holds the door open for her, remembering the American habit of opening doors for people. When they reach the head of the que in the coffee house she smiles up and him and asking what he would like. He orders a latte and she an Americano black. He tries to pay but when she whips out a black card he stops, he has one also and knows that with those little things the sky is usually the limit. They pick up their coffees and he heads toward the back of the café to a quiet corner where no one will recognize him. 

After he pulls down the mask and winds off the scarf he leans in and asks, “what brings you to Seoul?’ She laughs at that question like it’s the biggest joke in the world. Pushing a fallen wisp of hair behind her ear she tells him with a conspiratorial whisper, “I’ll tell you if you can keep it a secret” she flirts easy but still innocent. It’s like she doesn’t comprehend the undertones of the conversation. How old is this girl? She looks like she is in her early twenties but acts like an eighteen year old school girl. 

“I ran away from home.” Oh shit. Not good, maybe she is an eighteen year old school girl. She giggles at his look of surprise. “Shh, don’t worry.” She pats his hand on the table entering his personal space, another American habit, “It’s not like that. I was in college, studding law of all things when I had a life crisis and that was it. I went home that day, packed a carryon bag, got out my I-pad and booked a trip to London.” 

“London? I like London.” He says. Jiyong likes Paris and Milan better but hey when in Rome; agree with whatever the pretty girls say. “Me too. I spent a month there and met this girl that was backpacking through Europe. She talked of visiting Japan with her parents as a kid. She described the cherry blossoms and how peaceful it was. She loved Asia and I thought what the heck lets go see what she loved about it.” Ridley’s face is animated and her eyes sparkle as she talks. She tells him of being overwhelmed when she first got to Tokyo. After a week there she met some expat girls working there who described Seoul as a safer place for lone traveling females. So after only a week in Tokyo she hopped on another plane and has been here for a week now. They drink their drinks and talk and an hour slips by without him realizing it.

She is listening to him describe the Gyeongbokgung and how you can dress in authentic costumes to visit it when he senses a presence beside him. He looks up to see its Seunghyun; he must have tired of waiting. He slides in uninvited next to him pushing him to the other side of the booth. 

“Oh my God, it’s a Korean cookie monster!” Ridley exclaims at the sight of Seunghyn’s blue hair once he removed his hat. He can’t help that he sprays his drink on the table in laughter, luckily missing her. Coughing, laughing and trying to breath he looks over at TOP. His face is stunned by her rudeness, unintentional that it was. His eyebrows have that angry look. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you don’t know what I’m talking about do you,” She gives them a giggling explanation of a children’s television show called Sesame Street and a blue monster that consumes great quantities of cookies. I translate for Seunghyun and then lean into him bat my eyes and call him Cookie. He gives me a mischievous smile so I know we are okay.

In retaliation he rips my cap off and my bright red orange hair is exposed. He asks in Korean what she thinks and I translate. Her reply sends a silent thrill up my spine. “Oh, he’s a fire cracker, a big explosion of color,” If she only knew. I smirk at TOP and wag my eyebrows. He laughs and says with an innocent expression in halting English, “Big big bang.” She blushes and I think she took that as something suggestive. I elbow him in the ribs and tell him quickly to behave and that she doesn’t know who we are so please keep it on the down low. He nods and rudely rolls his eyes. 

TOP is bored and wants to go clubbing. I ask if she would like to go with us and she tells us that she has never really done anything of the sort. I find that hard to believe but she describes herself as a total book nerd and dedicated to achieving her degree too busy with studies to be having fun. The only dancing she has really experienced was Mardi Gras balls and school functions. Mardi Gras? At our questioning looks she explains carnival season in the south and the parties and revelry that goes on. She invites both of us to one day come see it for ourselves. Americans are very welcoming people. I can’t believe this beautiful girl has never gone clubbing and say so. She said she mostly hung out with her brother Rhun and his motley crew of football players and track team members. She agrees that she will come with us on another night if they promise to stay by her side the whole time. She looks tired and I ask if she is ready to go back to her Air B & B. She says yes so instead of writing it out I call for a taxi on my phone. Seunghyun and I quickly cover our hair with our caps and slip the masks back in place. She looks at us funny but doesn’t make a comment. 

We escort her to where her taxi is waiting and TOP suggest that we use the same taxi and drop her off first before going our own way. I like this idea because I will find out where she lives. She agrees so we all pile in the backseat of the taxi with me in the middle. She tells me the name of the building and I relay it to our driver and a moment later we are on our way. I’m impressed; it’s a good area, upscale, very nice. Ridley says she picked it because of the refrigerator of all things. “I grew up with a large fridge, mum and Paula, our cook keeps it full of snacks and yummy left overs, so to be comfortable I just have to have a large fridge. A well-stocked fridge means happiness and home to me.” She says with a smart nod. When we get there TOP invites us up to see said fridge and after a moment’s hesitation on her part she acquiesces so we fall out of the taxi and head up to her flat dismissing the driver. 

It’s a nicely appointed studio. Lots of metal appliances in the kitchen, a very big fridge, big screen TV and decent view of the city. And since it is a studio the bed is right there. Nice bed, large and fluffy, I hope I get a chance to try it out. She is telling TOP about the roof top terrace which reminds her of a place she visited once in Cozumel with the cabana beds, and he wants to see that also. She asks if we are thirsty and when we say yes opens the fridge. It’s full, but not with the tasty snacks of her childhood. There are two rows alone of takeout containers and about six bottles of wine with a couple bottles of water. Seunghyun chooses a red he likes and she reaches in a drawer and grabs a cork screw and tells me to grab some glasses. A quick look through the cabinet lands me three and we bring them as well as the bottle and climb the stairs toward the roof top.

The terrace is empty when we get there which is great since our disguises are off and I really didn’t want someone to see us, we would be all over social media in two minutes. It’s back to swapping stories of our lives as soon as all three of us have situated ourselves in three corners of one of the cabana beds. We’ve robbed all the other beds of their pillows and we lounge like Romans and talk. The lights of the city are beautiful and some of the brighter stars peek through the light pollution adding ambience to the scene. It’s a beautiful night in a beautiful city.

I ask her again about running away. “Aren’t your family worried and looking for you?” Ridley thinks for a moment. “No, I keep them updated every couple of days and they have agreed that with the situation they will give me some time to myself.” Ridley refuses to tell us what caused her to run, implying it is personal and we aren’t close enough for those truths yet. We discuss families over multiple glasses of wine and laughter. Seunghyun and I talk of when we met. We collapse with laughter when after TOP tells her of us rapping as children, she declares how she hates that genre of music and it makes her crazy mad. We swear oaths that we will change her mind on our favorite musical genre. Ridley explains that she doesn’t like the styles misogynistic attitude toward women. We implore her to listen to the Korean versions telling her that if she doesn’t understand it she can’t get pissed about it and to just concentrate on the music and the rhyme. Hours have flowed by like a stream; she is so comfortable and funny to be with. I have to say I like this girl.

I awake to a chilly dawn snuggled between two bodies on a cabana bed. Sometime last night one of us pulled one of the curtains off the cabana and it now covers us but it does a poor job of keeping off the cold. I need a bathroom and a tooth brush. I elbow the larger body clinging to me and with that movement the smaller one snuggles deeper into my side. Her hot breath on my neck is having a detrimental effect on my dignity. 

I nuzzle into her and plant a small kiss on her forehead. “Ridley, Ridley, wake up,” I whisper in her ear and I watch as her eyes flutter open. Ridley is startled at first but her eyes dance with humor and what comes out of her mouth next is shocking. “Wow, that’s a first. I’ve never slept with one guy much as less two.” 

TOP shakes with laughter at my side gripping me harder. He understood that, no translation needed. We quickly untangle ourselves, grab our glasses and the empty bottle and sneak down the stairs to her studio hoping that no one sees us. After quickly using the facilities Seunghyun and I don our disguises and make our good byes with promises to meet again for clubbing. I will keep that promise. I look forward to seeing her again. 

//\\\//\\\  
That night the band and I lounge around my living room drinking and laughing. TOP is entertaining them with the story of our meet up with Ridley. “Cookie!” they yell in unison. I think Seunghyun is going to be stuck with the nick name for some time to come. 

Taeyang and Daesung ask how she looks. “Sweet,” it’s an apt description of Ridley. She is sweeter than candy. Seunghyun nods at his description and takes over the description of Ridley’s attributes. He gives her stats; height around 160 cm, thin petite body, natural honey blonde, green eyes. “Freckles.” I say distractedly interrupting his description, thinking of waking up beside her and the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. I look up and realize that they are all looking at me and I ask what’s wrong. They pass around a look and erupt into laughter again. Boys describing a pretty girl, you know which direction they will go. 

“Well,” Seungri asked, “What base did you get to?” All but TOP lean in to catch the naughty details. I don’t volunteer any information I just give them a blank look. He just smirks and then grins widely, I know what is coming next and I brace myself for the hit. He wags those brows at me and let’s goes with information that I would rather not have out. Not for my reputation, it’s toast already. The guys have seen me in some crazy positions. You can read that like a pun if you would like but they have seen it all.

“We slept with her.” Seunghyun rumbles in his deep voice, and laughs. They explode with cheers, laughter, and questions. This is getting out of control. “TOP!” I yell back getting angry. “Not that way, you idiots! We fell asleep on the terrace talking last night and woke up this morning all piled up together. TOP is still a cuddler, you ought to be embarrassed dude.” I give him an angry look trying to lessen the situation. I don’t know why but I don’t like the thought of disparaging Ridley’s reputation. “We did not sleep, sleep together!”

They all exchange a look and burst into laughter again. Taeyang and Daesung click glasses together and whoop with laughter and say together like twins “But you will!”

“It was all three of us just talking if you remember Seunghyun.” I direct my statement back at him clenching my jaw. I’m frustrated. “No sex! We didn’t even talk of sex! She just is interesting.” I can’t help the blush that colors my cheeks. Our youngest has to put his spin on the conversation and as usual it’s just not okay with me. “If you won’t we will.” The others exchange an uncomfortable look now. When did things go ‘off’ with Seungri?

“Seungri, I will say this only once. Stay away from Ridley.” I will have to keep an eye on him. He will see this like a bull sees a red flag. 

//\\\//\\\

Two days later I am dressed in a traditional Hanbok in navy and white gold leaves stitched into the cloth to match Ridley. She looks like a foreign princess dressed in our native dress. Beautiful, I like her like this. My hair is back dark so my fans will be looking for red hair and not black but I keep my head down and try not to meet eyes. I keep the tattoos covered. It’s the only way I can understand how no one has discovered G Dragon walking around the palace acting as a tour guide. I had my assistant bring the two outfits to me the night before so I could bring them to Ridley as a surprise. 

Changdeokgung Palace is quieter and more park-like than the other palaces though there are still many buildings to view. There is a secret garden and we take the tour hanging back from the other tour members. The buildings blend in with the natural topography and it is such a serene place. This is a small piece of heaven on earth and it calms my spirit and I am glad to share the beauty of my country with the girl at my side. Ridley takes so many pictures completely enraptured with the history and beauty of our surroundings. At the lotus pond she asks one of the British tourists to take our picture. I was on pins and needles waiting for someone to recognize me but it never happened. 

Later that night we sample traditional foods at Ridley’s apartment. Her table is full of takeout containers, enough to feed six with left overs. We had laughed at her attempts so far to try the local food and how it had not worked out. So far she had survived on Italian, French, and American restaurants. I told her she just needed a local so I phoned a local restaurant with a good reputation and ordered half the menu. She liked the spicy rice cakes the most and took claim to the container with a playful growl when I tried to serve myself some. 

Ridley grew up next to water so they always had lots of seafood. She says her grandma always made the best crab gumbo. She told me if she could get okra or file’ powder she would make it for me. She cooks! 

We talked the night away and I left her place around two in the morning.

//\\\//\\\

Its afternoon and I’ve asked her to go to a Noraebang with me. She looked at me blankly until I told her that it was karaoke. She agreed then with the promise that I was not to make fun of her dancing. I agreed and had my assistant book us into a norabang near the studio. I pulled her through the back door of the building with no questions from her. On our walk over Ridley explained that she and her brother Rhun had got a karaoke machine for a Christmas gift in their teens. They had quickly grown bored with it until they came up with what they called the karaoke game. It was a dice game with karaoke. There were three song levels and you yourself did not choose what you sang. You were a victim of the other player’s whims. Roll a one or two and you sing a ballad. Roll three or a four and it was pop or rock. But the kicker was rolling a five or six. If you rolled that what you sang had to include explicit lyrics, the naughtier the better. For the game you had to go all out and interpret the music in song and dance. No shame or shyness was allowed. You did get one pass and one lip sync to for the faint hearted but Ridley said if you used it her brother always retaliated by giving you the most humiliating song he could find. It sounded fun but better with a group so I called Seunghyun to join us. 

Her brother, his friends, and she had perfected the game over the years. When they hit college age it also became a drinking game. She blamed her brother and his friends for what she called her corrupted youth. They had a blast making the younger teen blush and sing what she called the ‘blue’ language. He assumed that meant curse words. Ridley bragged that under their study she had memorized most of the eighty’s and ninety’s explicit songs. She blamed her brother and his friends for never having girl friends to hang with or her lack of dating in school. Her female school mates were either jealous of her or sidling up to her to get close to one of the guys. So because of that her close friends were always male. 

She was the troop mascot and went everywhere with them. They all guarded over her like big brothers and she had no hope during her high school years of dating because they knew every guy that approached her and scared most of them off. They included her in everything from rolling yards to syruping the country club golf course. Syruping was filling the holes with cheap sweet syrup and rolling was taking toilet tissue rolls and covering a victim’s yard in toilet paper. 

We were by ourselves so she walked the parlor looking everything over. It was the best parlor in the facility. It had all the tricks; snacks, drinks, and even costumes. Ridley asked if we could do this in English and I said between me and her yes but it was iffy with TOP. Just then not only did TOP walk in but the whole damn group. This promised to get rowdy fast. After quick introductions and some teasing from the guys we asked if they were game to trying something new. We explained the rules of the karaoke game and everyone agreed to go for it. 

We rolled dice to determine what order we would sing. Seunghyun was first, then Taeyang, Ridley, I, Daesung, and last to roll would be Seungri. TOP started us off by rolling a ballad. He sang Goodbye my Love by Ailee. He did well but amusing with that deep voice. Ridley said she liked it but didn’t understand a word he said. Next up was Taeyang he got pop so he sang an IKON tune. I enjoyed translating in whispers into Ridley’s ear with my arm casually thrown across her shoulder. 

Next up was Ridley. She took the dice in her hand and blew on them like she was gambling, shook it in her palm and then pitched it on the table. She rolled a six and the fun started. The guys cheered loudly and grouped together to decide what she would sing. First we needed just the rite song. The guys consulted together on what she could sing. Being unfamiliar with most American tunes I borrowed Ridley’s phone to flip through. I found a Fergie tune that fit the criteria. All Ridley said was “Crap!” as I loaded up the first tune, London Bridge by Fergie. 

She stalked up to the mic and growled to us sternly with her hands on her hips, “Okay, no making fun of me guys, and forgive me for whatever I may do. The gloves come off when you roll high!” She grinned and turned her back on us readying for the start of the song. The music flowed out of the speakers and she started in on London Bridge, one arm raised and the mic to her lips. She turned to us rapping along with the music like a pro and I would swear it was a different girl up there. Her voice wasn’t the best but she could carry a tune and the acting made up for anything lacking. Her dancing was a little suggestive and could have put some of the trainees to shame. We were in shock. She looked up from the finish of her performance and smirked better than G-Dragon could have ever and dared us to “beat that!” That was the declaration of war for the guys and me. Game on!

I rolled a five. I took to the small stage while Ridley grouped in with the guys whispering ideas for what I would sing. She insisted on Pony by Ginuwine. I knew that one. Magic Mike has nothing on me. I can roll my hips with the best of them. By the time the song over Ridley was blushing and fanning her face. I was topless with the top of my pants unbuttoned and strutting around in G-Dragons persona. The guys were jumping all over the place cheering and rolling on the floor laughing. When I slid back next to her in the booth buttoning my shirt, I could see her eyes dilate when I looked into them and said with a cocky leer, “Check Mate!” Bet none of her brothers’ friends had that effect on her. 

Daesung rolled a ballad and had to sing something boring. He did well but honestly I was still staring into Ridley’s eyes and not listening. Seungri rolled pop rock so we had him sing EXO. Two more ballads convinced us to just throw the dice back in her bag and turn this into a naughty song competition. We had more fun choosing risky songs for the others to sing anyway. As a committee we pondered over who would sing what and the longer it went on the louder and rowdier it got. The night ended with Ridley and me singing a duet. We sang Sexy Back by Timberlake’s and Timbaland.   
I sang Timbaland’s part and our chemistry on the small stage was electric. We played it for all it was worth, dancing around each other, teasing with a slick touch or a bump of a hip. I had a blast. The guys were mute until we finished, the moment we stopped they erupted in cheers, cat calls, and wild woops. Ridley and I were both breathing hard and staring into each other’s eyes. We were very affected by our performance together; it was foreplay on a stage. 

After that we closed it down. Ridley and I snuck out the back and the guys left by the front door. I kissed her goodnight and left her blushing in the doorway as I walked away. 

//\\\//\\\

Ridley woke up with a head ache this morning and we postponed our trip to Jeju Island. I was going to take her to my place for the weekend and explain all about me. She told me that she sometimes gets bad headaches but still wanted to spend time with me. She said that the meds she took made her sleepy but to come over anyway and she could nap on my shoulder while I watched a movie with her. I arrived with an ice pack for her head and food for later. I also had a gift for Ridley that left me nervous and a little giddy.

Ridley greeted me at the door in pink lounge pants and a white silky sleeveless top. Her eyes looked strained and her hair was a little mussed but she made sick look sexy. I quickly put the food in the fridge for later and wrapped the icepack in a hand towel. She pulled me towards the couch and handed me the remote. Instead of my shoulder she slid down and laid her head in my lap. I ran my fingers gently across her brow and she moaned and said that felt good. I held the icepack to her temple and a moment later she was asleep.

I watched the television without paying much attention to what I was watching. My thoughts were on revealing my secrets to Ridley. I know that I should have told her from the start but I wanted a real girl to love me not a fan girl. It’s been almost a month since we met. I think I’m falling for this girl but I will worry about that after I explain about G-Dragon.

 

Two hours later and he was still there on the couch. He hated that Ridley suffered with a headache. He normally would have left a date without any care of her feelings if he was board but he wasn’t bored. He had surprisingly enjoyed two hours of sitting watching TVs with Ridley’s head resting in his lap. He gazed down at her now taking in the soft shell of her ears each with a single diamond stud. Her lips with a rosy tint, the fuller bottom one had a slight scar, maybe from an accident as a child. Her brows with an arch that most women crafted with tricks of makeup but with Ridley it was natural. She was a natural beauty. 

 

He was giddy, he had the gift for Ridley and he couldn’t wait to give it to her but she was still asleep! Not waiting any longer, he gently pulled her hand to his lips careful not to wake her and kissed each knuckle on her hand. He pulled the ring from his shirt pocket and slipped it on her finger. He gazed down at the band he had had made just yesterday. It was a rush order but for the right amount of money people could get anything done. It was rose gold with small starfish and shells stamped into the circle. On the inside he had written you have my heart and his name. He smiled down at his handiwork and admired how it looked on her slim hand. He looked at Ridley’s face only to see her looking up at him.

 

“Hey, how are you feeling?” He whispered. She said nothing only reached her hand to his face to caress his cheek. She lifted up and he leaned down at the same time and their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. It was an awkward position and they moved as one, lips never leaving the others as they flowed together. Soon they were laying on the couch him half on top of her as they kissed, the longer they kissed more passionate it became. He leaned up and pulled off his shirt and she didn’t stop him only pulled him back down impatiently. She moaned as his lips trailed hot kisses to her jaw and neck. He stopped to look down at her. Her pupils were blown and he asked if she was sure. She nodded yes.

 

He rose and pulled her to her feet. Holding her hand he walked toward the bed. Standing at the foot he pulled the silky shell from her gently kissing her shoulder as he let it drop to the floor. He kneeled before her and pulled the lounge pants down for her to step out of them. He kissed her hip bone and stood to take her hand again and move her to the bed. He sat beside her and looked into her eyes and brought up a needed subject before things progressed any further. “Are you sure, positively sure?” She nodded again. “You know this is going to hurt.” He persisted not wanting to stop but love for her making him want the best for her. 

 

“Well then be quick about it.” She said with a straight face only to giggle nervously. Only his Ridley would approach a moment like this with a since of humor. He laughed gently, “Protection?” He was clean, and he hadn’t been with anyone in over six months. “Pill.” She replied. He took her lips in a kiss and the world faded away.

 

Later she stood at the window wrapped in a sheet looking out at the city lights. She was his, he had claimed his first virgin and instead of the trophy that some would thoughtlessly crow about he was so touched he was almost in tears. He admitted to himself it was love, a tentative fragile love but it had set roots in his heart tonight. 

 

He knew admitting this would only bring more problems into his life. He was rich, famous, and every aspect of his life was watched and controlled. He had carefully kept her from the public and his company’s sight with only the other band members ever meeting her. The team would keep quiet, they were brothers and brothers took care of each other’s secrets. 

 

The only one who knew how serious it was Taeyang. He had gone to him last week to ask about a gift for his girl. Tae was the most thoughtful person he knew. He showed his wife so much love in many different ways and made her feel loved and special. He would send her little hand written notes, flowers, and even disappear to hand deliver a single flower if he was in a really romantic mood. So he had gone to him the first of the week to ask about a gift that would show Ridley his feelings for her. Tae had said nothing expensive or elaborate, just something special. He suggested that he give her a simple band of rose gold carved with seashells to match the bracelet that Ridley never took off. 

 

I rise from the bed not bothering with clothes. Taking the sheet from her I wrap it around us both and hold her just looking out at my city. Worries will wait for tomorrow, we have tonight and it’s been magical. Tomorrow we will talk about G-Dragon and what that means for us. We will plan together. I kiss her neck and the take her hand and lead her back to bed. We make slow love and then hold each other as we fall asleep.

I awake to the light of late morning and I am alone. I don’t hear the shower so she must have walked to the coffee house to get us breakfast. I yawn and stretch, and roll over to snuggle down deeper into the bed and my hand touches paper. I look up to see a folded sheet of paper on Ridley’s pillow. Opening it I at first expect to see a note telling me that she had gone to get us breakfast and coffee but it wasn’t that sort of note. 

Ji,

First, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for so much. I wanted to wake up with you. Watch the morning sun catch your face in its glow. Ji I wanted so bad to see your eyes open for that first tentative glance at the dawn. See you when you first realized I was beside you and see the blush upon your cheek as you remembered last night. But I couldn’t, I knew if I did I wouldn’t leave.

Yes, I’m gone. I and my trusty IPad have been at it again. I booked my ticket two days ago. Please don’t be angry with me. You and I both were running from our futures. You were running from your upcoming service entrance and me from my demons. We both knew there was no escape from the inevitable. 

It’s killing me to sit here watching you sleep. My heart breaks with every breath I take but you have given that weak muscle strength. I know because of you I can face my future. I now carry a small portion of your fire within me and I promise that I will never let it burn out. 

Remember me fondly. Look for me one day when ‘we are old and gray’ and the world has no more demands upon us and we‘re free to be ‘US’ again. I will wait and hope for that day. 

Ridley

//\\\//\\\

Fairhope, Alabama, USA March 1, 2020 

I open the letter and read, my eyes tearing up.

Ji,  
I wanted to be here to greet you. I felt in my heart that you will come long before we were old and gray. I hope you do. Jiyong, I know it seems like it but I didn’t let the fire go out. It burned in me hot and strong until my last breath. I gave it away in the end but I know you won’t be mad about that. You will be sad but you will see it was for a good cause. Keep your heart open. Open to love, open to joy, and open to the future. Burn for me my love, burn hot and rage against anything that comes against you. You are strong and you will endure my red dragon. 

Please don’t be angry with my memory. Our time may have been fleeting but I cherished it so very much. Watch over my Jade Dragon won’t you? 

Forever,

Ridley 

Tears stream down my face. I clutch the letter in my hand and wipe my eyes with the other. She is gone and I will never see her again. Someone just turned off a light in my soul and I physically feel like I am missing a piece of me. I thought of all the days and days in service doing what was asked of me with her as my goal. I had planned during the monotonous hours of how I would sneak away and find her. I envisioned our kiss upon meeting again every night. How she would smile and tell me her crisis was past. She was okay and happy and so very glad to see me.

I feel the loveseat give beside me and I am enveloped in a strangers arms. I don’t care about propriety and someone invading my space or anything. My heart has been ripped away and I just sob on her shoulder and she rubs my back and whispers the lie that it will be better. No, it can’t get better. I cry till I am numb.

When the sorrow has dried up I pull away and mumble my apologies. “Don’t worry sweet heart, I understand.” She pushes my bangs back from my face like I was her child. These Americans, so familiar with strangers. 

“Jiyong, I’m sorry I’m being overly familiar but I heard so much about you from Ridley it was almost as if you were her boyfriend who lived across the street.” Sandra’s face gets serious. “Now, we need to talk about something that Ridley left that is very important. I need you to be strong for me can you do that?” I nod and wonder what she could have left for me. I know she was wealthy but why would she leave anything to me? “Can you sit here for just a moment while I go get something?” Again I nod in agreement. I will confess that while she was gone the tears started up again. Not the sobs this time. The tears just found their way down my cheeks and I didn’t realize I was crying until a fat tear landed in my lap. 

I heard a noise and looked toward the door. Sandra returned but with her was a girl of about two. She had black hair, a heart shaped face, and my eyes. “Jiyong, I would like you to meet Jade Kwon Lane, your daughter.” The little girl curiously looked at him and then back up at her grandmother. “Maw maw is he papa?” She asked curiously. Sandra nodded back with a grin. He couldn’t help it he slid to the floor to his knees in shock and stared at the little girl mute.

Jade walked to him and stood before him. Her head tilted to one side and she asked him, “Are you Papa?” He just nodded and she fell into his arms like she had known him from the first day of life. He picked her up and sat them both on the love seat, he couldn’t let go. He looked toward Sandra for an explanation.

//\\\//\\\

“She fell ill a month after she returned.” Sandra and I are sitting on the back porch looking out at the bay while Jade plays with a menagerie of small animals on the floor. Every so often she will pop up and go to each of us for a hug. She is a very affectionate child. 

On the opposite side of the bay the city of Mobile is cast in shadow, lit from behind with the pinks and oranges of the setting sun. We are talking while we wait for Ridley’s father to come home from work. Her brother had left to go see some friends after a quick handshake and a promise to his mom to be home for dinner. “We thought she had picked up a bug traveling but it wouldn’t go away. So after a trip to our family doctor we came home in shock with a diagnosis that she was two months pregnant.”

“How did she take the news?” I ask. I had seen her talk to some of the local kids on the island and she always loved to see babies. She had told me that she never thought about having kids of her own. She had looked sad at the telling but had cheered when I told her she would make a great aunt to her brothers’ kids one day. She laughed and told me he probably had them scattered across three states by now. 

“Well first off the doctors suggested an abortion because of her condition. She flat out refused. I was so angry at her for putting herself in even more danger.” Her OB consulted with a different doctor than the one who originally diagnosed her and they kept her under watch. She was high risk but refused to give up the baby. Like I said earlier I was so angry but she was so happy. She had us promise that if it happened we were to keep her on life support until Jade could be delivered safely. But she sailed through her pregnancy like a pro. We set up the nursery in the room next to hers; she wanted it red but finally agreed to go with green. When Ridley found out she would have a girl she was ecstatic. 

I think she knew she wouldn’t make it. There is a diary for Jade when she gets older. She made videos for her and you also. The baby was a week old when we found her in the nursery on the floor next to the bassinet. 

“What was her condition? Ridley never would tell me, just called it her demon to deal with.” The water on the bay is going black and the lights from the distant city and bay way traffic are starting to twinkle. “I thought it was her heart but I never found any medication other than her birth control pills.”

“It was an aneurism. She had some very bad headaches and we sent her to a specialist. She called me crying from the doctor’s office in Mobile. Deep within her brain where a surgeon couldn’t get to was a vein that was weak and starting to bulge. That thoughtless bastard just told her to make her peace and told her that she could go at any time.” She is crying silently so I reach over and grasp her hand and give it a slight squeeze. “She was in shock and her eyes were glassy when she walked in later that night. I honestly don’t know how she made it across the bay way. My husband and son were so angry with the doctor. She left that very night leaving only a note on her bed saying that she needed to be left alone for a while.”

I stay silent and let her talk. “I thought she had just gone to Atlanta, but then the text and emails started coming. She would send emails from London just talking about the sights and who she had spoken to that day. Quirky little text would pop up like ‘spent the day riding the Eye because I wanted to watch time pass’, ‘shocked tour guide by skipping along the hall in the palace” and “blew kisses to the horse guard’, and my favorite one, ‘toured the tower, you should see me in a crown’, she was such a nerd. Then next I know she is in Tokyo of all places! And a week later she was in South Korea!” I was all for packing a bag and retrieving her but my husband said to let her be. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do I was terrified all we would get was a box coming home with her in it.

“I got a text two weeks after she got to Seoul.” I look up from watching Jade play. “Fell in love with a Dragon, can I keep him?” I burst into laughter. “She knew who you were by the time the month was over. We talked about it when she got home. She was intimidated by what she had seen on line and honestly was scared of the other guy. She said she just knew and loved a normal guy named Jiyong. I wanted her to call you but she wouldn’t. Ridley said that you had too much to worry about and she didn’t want to saddle you with a scandal that would harm you or your career.”

I know things would have been worse if she had have called. I was so stressed and at the end of my tether and with service looming I went through a depression. I think even with her in there with me a scandal I would have pitched over the cliff. I smiled at the memories of her and I look down at my daughter playing quietly on the floor. I have a small piece of Ridley with me. I will be happy with that. I will share the world with her and teach her all I know. I will tell her stories of her mother and our short time together. I’m a dad, I always dreamed of having a little girl to cherish and spoil. 

Later that night I call my family. “Mom….” My voice cracks and I tell her of my month long love story so long ago and of her granddaughter. There are tears and laughter and flights to arrange. It will be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m late to the game when it comes to K-pop. My first introduction was when I was flipping channels and caught the BTS kids on an awards show. Yes, I’m old enough for them to be my kids, don’t judge. I was awed by their moves but not interested. I put them out of my mind. A month or so went by and I discovered K-dramas on Netflix. American TV just reeks of garbage. I wanted cute, innocent, and uncomplicated and found it with Meteor Garden. Needless to say I was hooked. I went from there to Korean Odyssey and now I’m an addicted K-Drama fool. The background music for KO was catchy even if it didn’t come with subtitles so I downloaded the soundtracks. Then one day I was scrolling through my apple music and Fake Love popped up as a suggestion. It was the beginning of my decent into K-pop, but I couldn’t find that one sound I was craving until I found Big Bang. I now have everything apple music has of theirs down loaded including MV’s. I look forward to their comeback as a foursome and can’t wait to see what surprises they have come up with for us while on hiatus. 
> 
> Bias: G Dragon of course. *smirking*
> 
>  
> 
> Crazy question – I do not mean in any way to offend anyone. But why, why, why is it these guys in the K-dramas lean down and stare the girl in the face in an intimidating manor? Where I come from we have this like ‘bubble’ of ‘my space – your space’ and you don’t get into my space. I will talk to anyone, there are no strangers, the world is amazing and I’m going to talk to all of it. But I don’t like it when strangers get into my space, even cute guys. So what is it with the intimidating panty melting stares? What would happen if she just licked him on the nose? I have impulse control issues too, it could happen.
> 
> A note for my WIP’s LFBBBM & TDD subscribers, I’m working on them. I promise *ducking behind computer screen in shame and hiding I-pad playing Bang Bang Bang MV*


End file.
